Great Photography ideas! Your place to learn digital photography.

Free photography tips and tutorials for everybody.

Top 5 Things to Know Before You Buy a Camera

August 11th, 2012 Andrei

Buying a new camera can be a fairly big investment, as most high quality cameras are not cheap. Because of that, you want to make sure that you’ve done your research and know exactly what you want out of a camera. If you’re in the process of looking for cameras right now, here are the top 5 things you need to know before you actually make the purchase:

1. Point and Shoot or SLR

There are two main types of digital cameras – the classic point and shoot, which is better for beginners, and the DSLR, which stands for digital single lens reflex. This allows you to actually see exactly what you are shooting, rather than an approximation through a view finder. DSLRs produce higher quality images, but they require more work from the photographer. If you are looking to take really high quality photos and want to dedicate the time to it, a DSLR is probably the best option. You can buy different lenses for these cameras as well, so you can really customize your camera for exactly what situation you are in. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a camera to quickly capture vacation photos and shots of friends and family to put on facebook or print for an album, then the less expensive and easier to use point and shoot is probably all you need.

2. Megapixels

The amount of megapixels a camera uses certainly contributes to the quality of the photos, but it’s not the only thing to consider. Some point and shoots have high mexapixels now, with some as high as 16 megapixels. Again, if you’re only going to be using your camera for casual photos or small prints, anything beyond 10 megapixels won’t make much of a difference. That being said, if you’re working with large images megapixels become much more important. In general, a DSLR will give you better results, even if a point and shoot has more megapixels. You should always do research into the specific cameras you’re looking into.

3. Size

The size of your camera mostly depends on what you’ll be using it for. If you want something you can easily slip into your pocket or purse, you’ll want to look at smaller cameras. If you don’t mind lugging around a full camera bag to hold a large camera, you can look for more complex and larger models with multiple lenses.

4. Price

For almost everyone, price plays a very important factor in buying a camera. If you have a price range, make sure you only look within your range at those available cameras. If you don’t put a price limit on it, you may get drawn in by something that is way out of your budget. Cameras can range anywhere from around $100 or less to thousands and thousands of dollars for a professional camera.

5. Accessories

All cameras have accessories, so if there’s something specific you want to use it for make sure that you pick a camera that has the accessories that you want. With a DSLR you’ll want to look at the types of lenses that are available, as well as light fixtures and external flash units. And with all cameras, you’ll want to consider the batteries, chargers, bags, straps, and anything else that you might be using.

—

Berger Bros has been an industry leader in supplying the best photographers with all the best equipment. Jeremy Thorne has been involved in the marketing for the company for years and enjoys watching it thrive.